Proton VPN Reviews 

Useless, many websites detect Proton and block it. Proton makes it VERY difficult to cancel with many obstacles and long delays to their 'money back guarantee. AVOID, disreputable, useless.

The Good: Solid encryption, clean interface, strong no-logging commitment. Gets the basics right for privacy-conscious users.
The Bad:
Slow servers: Many Plus-tier servers struggle with throughput. 4K streaming buffers, large downloads drag—noticeably slower than competitors at the same price point.
Endless YouTube CAPTCHAs: Almost every session triggered "I'm not a bot" screens on YouTube across multiple servers and countries. Extremely frustrating and kills the streaming experience.
Swiss jurisdiction uncertainty: Switzerland is pushing a revised surveillance law (VÜPF) that could force providers with 5,000+ users to collect government IDs, log IP/metadata for 6 months, and potentially decrypt data on demand—all via executive decree, no parliamentary vote. Proton says they're moving infrastructure to the EU (€100M investment) and the law may not technically apply to their zero-knowledge setup, but the legal landscape is clearly shifting.

Bottom line: Great for encryption-first users, but slow speeds and constant CAPTCHA friction hurt daily usability. The Swiss law changes add real uncertainty even if Proton fights it. Worth considering if Proton relocates fully—and if speeds improve

I subscribed with the hope of connecting into BBC.IPLAYER but to do so I have to upgrade to the most expensive option. I feel that I subscribed under am illusion. Also I cannot find a means of unsubscribing. Can I get a refund

Nasty. Plain nasty. Their email service is allegedly secure but given the sh!show VPN service I've got my doubts on that.

The 'free' VPN wouldn't load. Trued re connecting to different random servers and nothing would connect at all - god knows what server infrastructure they're using. Won't be paying for any subscription with this lot any year soon - ill stay with NordVPN at least it connects first time round and looking at the other 900 or so reviews the message is resounding clear STAY AWAY!!!

I am using it right now! Has been solid and easy to configure.

Bought pro for 1 month for the purposes of using this on holiday. It took 2.5 weeks to receive the upgrade from free version which was therefore too late. I requested a refund which has not been provided despite my best efforts. They hide behind 'You've purchased it through apple so it is up to them whether it is to be refunded' apple will not allow refunds either.
Therefore they have taken my money and all i have received is the hinderance to try and solve the issue.

Terrible! Their verification code does not arrive. They make you upgrade and then do not send replies for days. When they do reply, it sounds like they never really read your email. Not recommended!

My ticket number: (4917432)

Please do not buy PROTON guys. Make yourselves a favor!

signed up for one month and they renewed my subscription for another month! i dont understand. on the subscription page, you get the choice of annual subscripton or monthly. i chose monthly and they continue renewing it!! how this is a monthly subscription then?

Edit: Tech support did reach out after I cancelled the subscription and offered to troubleshoot. It felt like a very long and involved troubleshooting process, so I declined and was granted a refund. I appreciate that.
Original: I was shocked that this was one of the top rated VPNs. After downloading it and connecting, I was actually not able to connect to the internet at all. An AI "troubleshoot" just gave me some bullshit about -- "oh you just have a very sensitive internet provider and if you do these 15 steps, you can probably connect" -- the whole point of the VPN for me is to be able to safely connect while I am out it the world -- I can't spend 10 hours troubleshooting every Starbucks public internet connection.

The promotional offers from this VPN service feel like a trap. I received a Discount Deal email, and they also advertise student discounts. However, whenever I click the offer, I’m unable to claim it because I must use the device I originally subscribed with. When I open the app on my phone, the discounted offer is nowhere to be found—only the regular price.

I contacted customer support, and they initially asked me to provide screenshots. After I sent everything they requested, they simply stopped responding. Their customer service has been extremely disappointing.

Because of this experience, I have cancelled my subscription and will be switching to a different VPN provider. I cannot recommend this service.

Ticket number 789292

They are established well known and their software is mostly competent. They have a proven record and are upfront about all their policies. Their service covers everything. I use their VPN because its fast and reliable and has many features (VPN protocols) and servers. I've only had a good experience with them since getting their paid option which is very affordable for folks like myself. Their free tier is always a fallback option as well if things get tight, truthfully speaking.

Im Sure They Offer More But 5 Stars for the following;
Free VPN
Free Encrypted Mail
Free Encrypted Storage
They Do Have Subscriptions but
they Offer many free basic versions allowing you to try out most features.

USe Directly With Simplelogin to also have email alias.

My Top Freemail Service

Thank You Proton For Being a Leader and Good Example for Big Tech to FOllow

I pressed the email offer from them to check out the offer but I was instantly charged from my PayPal account.Refused to cancel and revert to original subscription.I lost 3 months remaining subscription but got chargeback from PayPal.They then suspended my account quoting fraudulent payment activity,all caused by them.I would never use them again

Look at their response…They are a joke.
To be clear,I never did anything wrong or incorrect it was their refusal to cooperate that lead to this. Customers beware. I never updated my subscription,their email “offer” did that on its own

The nasty feature of allowing the VPN over the same country and preventing the change to other "free" country for 10mins to basically push the user to buy your stupid program will definitely not going to help you in the long term. This is how you loose respect over a product, when you become greedy. Either offer the ability to change it or not in a decent manner.

Terrible service and customer support , paid for a year to test it out I though I would try their cloud service as well.
Buggy as hell doesn't work , won't sync , want upload files ,on top of that support is beyond terrible takes two days to rest a response and then they just paste robotic staff , stay away .

I like that they refunded me in full when i didn't find the server i wanted

I bought a 1-year premium subscription for $50 three days ago. Right after they took my money, the service stopped working completely. I haven't been able to connect for 3 days now. Technical support completely ignores my requests. This is a total rip-off and unacceptable service. I demand an immediate full refund under your 30-day money-back guarantee! Avoid this VPN.

I have been using the free version of Proton VPN for about 10 months without any real problem. The pros outweighed the cons however last week I noticed the internet stopped working roughly every 4 hours. This then became every 3 hours and so on until today. Now my internet seizes every 10 - 20 minutes. To get back online I have to restart the computer. Turning off the vpn is not enough. Now I have checked the computer the router the connections etc and everything is fine. Put on Proton and its slow down followed by crash, repeatedly.
I don't know what has happened but the free service for me is unusable/untrustworthy. Thank you.

Long-time user

Long-time user: An excellent ecosystem, but serious concerns regarding neutrality.

As a user for over 7 years, I had never left a single review for Proton AG until now.

Today, I remain highly satisfied with the daily use of the products, their fluidity, their ergonomics, and the overall ecosystem. However, as a paying user (on high-tier plans) for all these years, I have several "red flags" to raise that are beginning to seriously worry me.

1. Political neutrality: A promise in jeopardy?
Originally, I chose Proton because I aligned with the values you promoted, particularly on two essential points:

- Absolute political neutrality (everyone is treated equally, regardless of their stance or ideas).
- A true, secure ecosystem with no backdoors or data reselling.

On the first point, I am starting to have strong concerns. If you look into it (and it is well-documented), several public figures have recently had their Proton accounts closed or their sponsorships terminated. Interestingly, these personalities all lean toward the same side of the political spectrum. I find it deeply regrettable to claim to be "apolitical" and "neutral" but fail to apply these rules to yourselves. I am not politically active at all, and no political side appeals to me, but that doesn't mean a tech company should position itself as a judge.

In today's world, where censorship is becoming commonplace, what will happen if the organizations meant to fight against it start doing the same? For my part, this raises serious questions about Proton's vision on this matter.

2. Product development and community feedback
On a technical level, I am globally very happy with daily use. However, as a paying customer, I would like to point out two downsides:

- improvements requested by the community for a very long time are still not available (with the development of Lumo AI seemingly being prioritized instead).
- software tools expected by users would have been much more relevant to develop than this AI project.

Conclusion
I am currently adopting a "wait-and-see" approach. These shifts make me fear that Proton is drifting away from its initial principles—a classic pitfall for any entity once significant financial interests come into play. I am watching closely, and I sincerely hope I won't be forced to abandon a ship I used to love so much.

Killed download speed. Prevents access to many site features. Have to regularly turn off to get to the data I need. Most disappointed.